Suddenly Christmas

My daughter Emily and I were in the car the other day listening to Christmas music on 101.1 FM when, what to my wondering ears should appear, but John Denver singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Of course, it didn’t take long until they played Bing Crosby’s, "White Christmas" (and yes, it seems it is only a dream). And then there was Burl Ives, Amy Grant, Natalie Cole, Elvis Presley--which pop singers haven’t done a Christmas album?

So there’s the music of the season. Plus the lights, cookies, parties, decorating, shopping, Christmas cards, seasonal movies and TV pro­grams (my favorite is "A Charlie Brown Christmas"): this must be the most tradition-laden event in the year (at least, it is for our family).

A risk in reenacting such cherished traditions is that we’d lose sight of the big picture; God’s designs for the first Christmas can get buried under piles of wrapping paper as we open gifts around the tree. To push back the steamroller of pleasant customs and recover the God-exalting core of Christmas, we need to pay attention to the details of Scripture.

Let’s take the shepherds, for example (Luke 2:8-20). In fact, the story of shepherds "abiding in the fields" can itself degenerate into a holiday ritual of soothing words and nothing more. But if we prayerfully re-read this account with our eyes and minds wide open, we’ll see some striking details. Like "suddenly" in 2:13: "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'" It isn’t enough to know that first one angel spoke and then many others appeared as well. We must realize that the appearance of the "host" was sudden and unexpected--they burst onto the scene.

What does this imply? That there was energy and zeal and anticipation in heaven to announce the breathtaking Incarnation. God’s great plan had been riveted on this event since eternity past, and now its time had come! So picture the array of angelic singers (and the text suggests a massive company--at least thousands...) all lined up and ready to go; imagine them, as it were, right behind the curtain, all set, on pitch, wait­ing for the cue to explode into visibility. Waiting, still waiting, no not yet, not now, wait, wait, any second, hang on: NOW! Glory to God in the highest!

May your Christmas also bring sudden bursts of praise to Jesus Christ, the Newborn King!

On Temptation

Several things struck me in a recent study of 1 Corinthians 10:1-14. I’ll highlight two of them here.

For one, the sins Paul lists (idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and grumbling) don’t seem to fit in the same category. Grumbling in particular looks out of place next to an “enormous” offense like idolatry. But perhaps seeing things this way reveals how I (we?) have adopted the world’s and not the Bible’s values. Grumbling, at root, is a way of heaping scorn on the power, wisdom, and love of God—it’s a gesture of “unfaith” and rebellion. Speaking words of defiance against the God who made us and reigns over all things is spiritual high treason. So if you’re in the habit of finding fault, don’t say “That’s just the way I am.” Call on the Lord to forgive you and change your heart!

Secondly, let me offer some steps to take to resist sexual temptation:

· First, agree with the Bible that sexual sin is wrong. This is a big step in a culture that has turned sexual stimulation into a form of casual recreation.

· Admit that you are tempted (pretending to be unaffected, to be “above” such things, only makes matters worse; it cuts you off from those who can encourage you when temptation hits).

· Have a few close Christian friends who will meddle in your personal life and ask you if you’re honoring God with your eyes and your sexuality (and do the same for them).

· Stay away from known danger. Be honest with yourself—you know the places and situations where temptations are especially strong. Run from these hazards (10:14).

· Be especially stringent with yourself when you’re alone. Don’t fall for the lie that “no one is watching.” The Lord sees!

"One Another"

Having close spiritual friendships isn’t just a nice idea: it’s essential for followers of Jesus. We need to give and receive God-focused, faith-building encouragement to avoid being hardened by sin’s deceitfulness and to persevere with Christ to the end (Heb 3:12-14). That's a serious need--not like "I need a new tie," but like "I need food and water." Are you in a small fellowship of faithful Christian friends who love and challenge each other on a deep level, so that you can survive and thrive in your faith?

The Bible calls us to a deep, mature body life in which we bless “one another” in many ways:

Greet one another (Romans 16:16)
Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
Be subject to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
Bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2)
Forgive one another (Colossians 3:13)
Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16)
Pray for one another (James 5:16)
Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
Confront one another (Colossians 3:16)
Stir one another up (Hebrews 10:24)
Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
Love one another (Romans 13:8)

Remember, “one another” means reciprocal care—giving and receiving support. And for that believers need small groups!

Summertime Christianity

During summer, a number of temptations come at followers of Christ with added force. I’ll name three.

For one, there’s the unspoken appeal to lower your priority on the body life of the church and mutual encouragement due to summer’s special attractions: away at the shore / the lake / the cabin / the farm, on vacation, gone camping, off to see relatives, etc. Now, of course, it’s good to get a break—we all need it. And it’s good to reconnect with loved ones who live far away. But a reasonable summer break can quickly slide into a vanishing act in which your brothers and sisters in your church family hardly get a glimpse of you. Don’t snub the body of Christ to keep pace with the summer rat-race!

Another trap along the trail has to do with summer apparel. Are you prepared to glorify the Lord by dressing with modesty and discretion? Modesty may not be exactly in fashion, but there are more important things than dressing in the latest skimpy style. Godly people find it a great relief when those around them don’t make their bodies “exhibit A.” Think about how you can encourage others by how you dress. Think about how you can help fellow believers who are struggling to be faithful to Christ with their eyes.

A third pot-hole along the summer road is the disarray that can overrun your devotional life. A fruit of more predictable scheduling in other seasons of the year is the regularity we can find for the spiritual disciplines (e.g., Bible reading, prayer, fasting, meditation)—we’re creatures of habit, and that has its advantages. So, be deliberate, build protected “space” into your summer schedule so that your spiritual life can flourish!

Love of Money

Nigerian pastor Michael Okonkwo says God provides for his children to be wealthy here on earth: “When I say wealthy, I mean very, very rich…. Break loose! It is not a sin to desire to be wealthy” (Christianity Today, July 2007, p. 23). Of course, there’s no shortage of prosperity preachers in the USA who say the same thing.

When people are telling Christians that longing to be rich is acceptable and good, it’s time to open the Bible.

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NIV): “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

So the Word of God is clear: wanting to get rich is dangerous. It brings you into “temptation” (e.g., the temptation to find joy and security in earthly things), and you fall into a “trap” (e.g., the trap of self-serving materialism from which you can’t escape). What’s more, the longing for wealth ignites other harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Ponder the term “plunge.” Picture a water slide with a steep drop—it feels like a free fall. Then imagine what it would take to stop mid-plunge and turn around! And think about the outcomes, “ruin” and “destruction”—not vague or subtle terms! Setting your heart on wealth leads to “all kinds of evil,” including wandering away from the faith—from authentic faith in Jesus Christ.

MUCH is at stake when it comes to your heart. Deep down, is your longing to gain earthly riches? I plead with you to ignore the prosperity preachers, set your heart on Christ, and be content (6:8)!

VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTINGS

A very dark cloud has come over the American college community this week. We all saw coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings, watching in dismay and horror. Thirty-two lives ended, just like that: Ross • Christopher • Brian • Ryan • Austin • Jocelyne • Daniel • Kevin • Matthew • Caitlin • Jeremy • Rachael • Emily • Jarrett • Matthew • Henry • Liviu • G.V. • Partahi • Lauren • Daniel • Juan • Minal • Erin • Michael • Julia • Mary • Reema • Waleed • Leslie • Maxine • Nicole.

There is much to PRAY about in the wake of this disaster. Pray for comfort for grieving relatives and friends of the victims. Pray that devastated survivors will run to and not away from God in this hour of great vulnerability. Pray that this shocking reminder of life’s fragility will help many “invincible” people to grapple with the fact of death and come to Christ for eternal life.

Amidst the tumult of emotions and questions, no doubt we all wonder about God’s purposes: what was God up to that morning at VT? Where is God when tragedy strikes—especially when it hits those who are innocent? How can we make sense of this madness?

There are ways of answering such questions that only make things worse. Like supposing God wasn’t able to prevent the suffering (the biblical message about God’s omnipotence is clear; see, e.g., Ps 115:3; Jer 32:17; Dan 4:35; Eph 3:20; etc.). Or imagining that God doesn’t really care enough to meet our needs (see John 3:16; Rom 5:8; 8:38-39). Better to pause, take a breath, and recognize that in some ways God and his designs are beyond us. (When you think about it, how could it be any other way? How could God be God and still somehow fit into our human-sized imaginations and limitations? It is perfectly reasonable that the God of the universe is way too vast to be captured in our fallible human reasoning.)

Let me recommend a resource that I’ve found helpful when pondering these large questions. John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, wrote an article after Columbine and then updated it after 9/11 in which he offers twenty-one suggestions for ministering to grieving survivors in the aftermath of tragedy.

God bless you as you seek his face and as you pray for his sovereign ingenuity to overturn evil for good!

GOSSIP AND THE CHURCH

Gossip involves talking behind someone’s back and saying things you wouldn’t say if he or she were present. Talking about rather than to others is like walking on a frozen pond on a warm day in March--dangerous!

Why do people gossip? Because they--we--desire attention and power. Believers who gossip exhibit spiritual immaturity; it shows we’re not satisfied with acceptance by Christ and not ready to entrust our lives to his strong, loving hands. What’s more, when we willingly listen to gossip, it corrodes our conscience and we take on part of the guilt for spreading hurtful talk.

What does gossip do to the church? Like a carbon monoxide leak, it brings deadly consequences. Listen to Proverbs: A gossip betrays a confidence (11:13; 20:19). Gossip separates close friends (16:28). Gossip fans the flames of a quarrel so they won’t die down (26:20). When we tolerate gossip, we’re giving approval to betrayal within the body. By contrast, love for our neighbors means stopping them mid-sentence to say, "I won’t listen to this, and I believe you should speak directly with the person you’re talking about."

Gossip is poison to community. Post a guard at your mouth (Eph 4:29) to prevent the escape of all unnecessary words about people who aren’t present. The only words to let flow freely are complements. Before saying anything else about anyone, ask yourself if the curious listener needs to know what you know. When in doubt, be quiet.

If you have things you truly need to say that concern others (e.g., words of warning, correction, rebuke), deliver them directly to the people involved (Matt 18:15) and not to others--not even to close friends or your spouse. Avoid inflammatory words and exaggeration. And remember to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15).

FORD, BROWN, & SADDAM

A few days ago I saw news headlines about the deaths of Gerald Ford, James Brown, and Saddam Hussein on the same page. An interesting threesome, aren’t they?

Gerald Ford, born in Nebraska, raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eagle Scout, center on University of Michigan football team, law school, in navy during WWII, married and father of four, elected to congress, eventually Vice President and President of the US, dies at age 93.

James Brown, born during the Depression in South Carolina, jailed for armed robbery, later drawn to gospel music, then rhythm and blues, becomes the “godfather of soul,” given lifetime achievement Grammy award, yet never learns to read music, dies of heart failure.

Saddam Hussein, born in Iraq, abused by stepfather, raised by uncle, leaves law school to join revolutionary Baath Party, BP takes power in 1963 coup, he becomes government “strongman,” clutches at land and oil in Iran-Iraq war, lashes out at Kurds, invades Kuwait, deposed in 2003, hanged in 2006 for crimes against humanity.

These men led profoundly different lives, yet they had this in common: their days were numbered. Death can’t be evaded, not by power or fame or wealth or anything. Death is a great equalizer; the small and the great are suddenly the same. And the only question will be whether or not Someone has paid the penalty for your defiance of Almighty God. Do you know and trust in Jesus Christ so that you’re ready for death (John 3:16)? Have you received his gift of resurrection life (11:25)?

CHRISTIANS AND CLIMATE

The "Evangelical Climate Initiative" is an important and urgent statement about how Christian discipleship relates to care of the planet. Followers of Christ in the Western world have often not considered how climate change affects the poor and vulnerable more than it does others, but the ECI helps us see this clearly. What's more, I found the stated reasons for the necessity of an active response by Christians to climate change to be both persuasive and compelling:

• "Christians must care about climate change because we love God the Creator and Jesus our Lord, through whom and for whom the creation was made. This is God's world, and any damage that we do to God's world is an offense against God Himself (Gen. 1; Ps. 24; Col. 1:16).
  
• Christians must care about climate change because we are called to love our neighbors, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, and to protect and care for the least of these as though each was Jesus Christ himself (Mt. 22:34-40; Mt. 7:12; Mt. 25:31-46).
  
• Christians, noting the fact that most of the climate change problem is human induced, are reminded that when God made humanity he commissioned us to exercise stewardship over the earth and its creatures. Climate change is the latest evidence of our failure to exercise proper stewardship, and constitutes a critical opportunity for us to do better (Gen. 1:26-28)."

The Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College recently hosted a lecture series on "Global Climate Change: A Faithful Response," in which Dr. Duane Litfin, President of Wheaton College and a signer of the ECI, was a participant. Wheaton's CACE also offers a brief review of the documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth."

May the Lord grant us wisdom and courage to face these enormous challenges!

BART CAMPOLO ON HELL

BART CAMPOLO AND THE DOCTRINE OF HELL

By Dr. Peter K. Nelson
Senior Pastor, Goshen Baptist Church
West Chester, Pennsylvania

In his article, “The Limits of God’s Grace” (Journal of Student Ministries, Nov.-Dec., 2006), Bart Campolo challenges the classic biblical doctrine of hell, favoring instead a notion of universal salvation. This is a noteworthy essay, not only because of its strong claims but because it is being presented in a publication that has had a significant influence within evangelical ministry circles. Numerous responses to this work are circulating on the internet. I want to comment on several lines of Campolo’s reasoning and various aspects of the case he makes.

SALVATION AND WORKS

If the logic implicitly followed in the article is made explicit, it boils down to a theology of works. The sorrowful story of a nine-year-old girl who is horribly abused and later rejects the Lord for allowing this tragedy is the backdrop for a merit-based view of relating to God. The implication is that, if you suffer enough, if you endure enough pain and abuse in this life, then it is unthinkable that things could turn out badly for you in the end. In other words, the person who faces a sufficient amount of unjust suffering deserves the eternal favor of God. In fact, it is determined that God would be guilty of acting in a way that is out of line and unconscionable if he were to condemn anyone who had faced such an extent of suffering.

There are two problems here. First, how much suffering is enough to exempt a person from the wrath of God? How deeply painful and traumatizing must the abuse be in order to qualify a person absolutely to escape final condemnation? Surely Campolo would not imagine that someone, say, spanked too hard one time as a child would be, for that reason, necessarily bound for heaven. On the other hand, he is vigorous in the effort to portray as innocent victims those who suffer serious abuse, and for such victims any denial of final bliss would be unthinkable. The lack of an objective measure of the seriousness of one’s suffering is a major flaw of reasoning.

Second, and more importantly, in the Bible it is quite clear that no one is saved on the basis of his or her deserving, but only through the all-sufficient merit of Christ. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8-9, NIV). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:4-5a). “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal 2:15-16a). Scores of additional texts could be cited. It would be hard to overstate the importance of this bedrock biblical theme, which was emphasized by the Reformers and has been upheld by orthodox believers through the ages.

DOCTRINE OF GOD

In addition, Campolo frames the whole discussion so as to magnify the love of God and mask various other divine attributes. There simply is no grappling with the holiness of God, or with divine justice, or with the righteous wrath of the Lord. Rather than presenting a balanced and comprehensively biblical doctrine of God and then building an informed understanding of eternal destinies on that founda­tion, it is assumed throughout that love exhaustively represents the character of God.

The boldness with which Campolo asserts his view is stunning: “I simply am not interested in any God but a completely good, entirely loving, and perfectly forgiving One who is powerful enough to utterly triumph over evil. Such a God may not exist, but I will die seeking such a God, and I will pledge my allegiance to no other possibility because, quite frankly, anything less is not worthy of my worship.” We must bear in mind, however, that church history is littered with misguided movements and tragic distortions of the gospel that have resulted from half-truths and the neglect of the full array of divine attributes.

The end product of this approach to God, of course, is belief in universal salvation, a complete redemption and absolute healing “for all of us.” Campolo states that he is not afraid God will damn people if they do not accept Jesus, nor is he in doubt about the hope of universal redemption. In fact, Campolo goes further and depicts negatively those who do not share this hope, although he does not begin to interact with the reasons for which classical Christian belief has always rejected universalism.

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

It seems that Campolo forms his convictions regarding eternal destiny in a way that neglects biblical authority. With reference to his claim that God is absolutely and entirely loving, he states, “This is my first article of faith. I required no Bible to determine it, and—honestly—I will either interpret away or ignore altogether any Bible verse that suggests otherwise.” He goes on, “I came to trust the Bible again, of course, but only because it so clearly bears witness to the God of love I had already chosen to believe in.” What is absent here is the humble disposition of letting God set the agenda for our thinking and practice; there simply is no readiness to seek out and submit to “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Campolo provides a clear, if disturbing, example of fashioning firm beliefs without genuinely seeking to ground them in the witness of Scripture.

CANON WITHIN A CANON

Campolo favors the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels over against other sections of the New Testament because the life, death and resurrection of Christ seem to be “the best expression of the ultimate truth of God,” namely grace. But this is putting the cart before the horse: how does one responsibly identify the best expression of the ultimate truth of God but by first reading the Bible—the whole Word of God—and then seeking to discern its overarching message about one topic or another (e.g., eternal states)?

Further, when Campolo summarizes the task of following Jesus in the Gospels as feeding the poor and freeing the oppressed, he does not adequately represent the biblical balance of word and deed in discipleship (see, e.g., Luke 4:18-19; 9:2; Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). A study of Mark’s Gospel, for example, shows Jesus and his followers casting out demons and healing the sick as well as proclaiming God’s Word (e.g., 1:14-15, 21, 34, 38; 2:2, 13; 3:14-15; 4:1; 6:12-13); there is a balance of attention to body and soul, to physical and spiritual needs. Framing Jesus’ ministry in terms of social action, however, takes away from this healthy and balanced attention to the whole range of human needs.

RESPONSE TO TRUTH

Campolo puts himself forward in this article in such a way that that minimizes and makes light of truth and of the importance of distinctions between right and wrong. “John Calvin—or Jerry Falwell for that matter—may well be right after all, but if they are I would rather cling to my glorious hope than accept their bitter truth just to save my own skin.” Without going into the various problems created by lumping Calvin and Falwell together in this way, it must at least be noted that this disregard for truth is as far-reaching as it is bold. The impression given is that the beliefs of various other people with whom Campolo disagrees are foolish to say the least, and perhaps even reprehensible. A parallel impression is that Campolo presumes to have the right to dismiss historic doctrines and the revealed truth of Scripture that undergird orthodox theology, thus allowing him to put forward his own distinctive set of ideas.

Furthermore, there is a flippancy about the horrors of hell in this article. To say, under any terms, that you would prefer hell over the prospect of having to accept the views of people you disagree with is grossly to minimize the seriousness of the biblical fact of God’s wrath. Readers are not helped when truth is made subordinate to this kind of brazen disregard of profound and sobering eternal realities.

At one point Campolo contends, “If those things [i.e., claims about the eternal suffering of those who do not accept Christ, and notions of divine sovereignty encompassing human tragedy] are true, then God might as well send me to hell.” The soul gasps when reading this assertion. By contrast, a fitting, God-honoring response at this point might have been, “If those things are true, then I pray that the Lord would graciously and powerfully work in my life to help me accept and submit without reservation to his ways and designs, because I want nothing more in all the universe than to honor God and embrace the Lord’s saving work, through which he offers me deliverance from final judgment.”

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

In “The Limits of God’s Grace,” Campolo fiercely dismisses what is portrayed as a stiff, unfeeling theology, and aggressively commends instead an avant-garde and fresh perspective on God and life. The fact is, however, that there is nothing new or fresh about these ideas. What they amount to, ultimately, is a return to various errors and imbalances that have harmed the church and misrepresented the Word of God at various times in the past (e.g., universalism, the social gospel movement, adopting a canon within the canon, dismissing divine sovereignty, neglecting major aspects of God’s character).

Perhaps the one thing that is fresh and cutting edge in this article is the staggering boldness, the brazen “in your face” approach with which Campolo dismisses biblical authority and assumes the right to determine for himself just what kind of a God there is and must be. He declares that no other conception produces a God worthy of his worship. In the end, Campolo maintains that he will not respond to God in any way other than the way he deems best, and that he will not consider any other view of the Bible, of theology, or of God. There is a vehemence about this essay, a tenacity which, sadly, is deployed in support of seriously misguided hermeneutical and theological claims.

THE END OF GENESIS

Genesis begins with the familiar account of creation. God makes lights, skies, waters, land, animals. The pinnacle of creation involves fashioning humans in God’s own image. When most people think of the first book of the Bible, they think of the creation story.

But do you know how Genesis ends? Chapters 37-50 tell of Joseph’s tumultuous life (favorite son, hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, framed, imprisoned, yet preserved by God and eventually raised to a high office under Pharaoh). Many years after betraying him, his devious brothers beg for mercy. Should Joseph give them what they deserve? He decides to forgive, and then says, “As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, for the saving of many lives” (50:20).

This is not just about finding good in natural calamities (e.g., sickness, disasters), but recognizing God’s good hand at work even beneath the brutal, hateful acts of human sinners. While God is not the author of sin, in his sovereign ingenuity he weaves “all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Yes, all things.

Do you dare to trust the Lord today in a radical way, like Joseph? To trust him with cancer? To trust him with job loss? To trust him with bankruptcy? I know this is hard—it certainly doesn’t come naturally. But by God’s help we can learn to rest in the midst of the storm, knowing that God has not lost control and is weaving strands of pain and suffering into a good future.

PRAYER AND RESULTS

Ephesians 1:15-23 challenges us to practice "mature prayer.” Let’s pursue that idea.

My point is that, as Paul prayed for a high-impact work of God among the Ephesians—an exhibition of immeasurably great divine power (1:19)—he did so as an apostle in chains (6:20). He desired grand transformation for them while enduring miserable affliction himself. His ambitious prayers did not yield relief for his own wrenching trials.

A simplistic reading of the Bible’s prayer promises can be dangerous. “Ask and it will be given to you…” (Matt 7:7). “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13; cf. Mark 11:24; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15; etc.). Are these blanket promises? No.

Prayer is not a switch: flip the switch, get what you want (remember 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). The Lord intends us to live with affliction, at least on some level; he doesn’t promise trouble-free living. There’s a cross to bear (Luke 9:23; cf. Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 3:12). We’re to follow in the steps of the suffering Christ (1 Peter 2:21).

Keeping these texts in balance, in tension, takes a measure of spiritual maturity. It would be easy to fall into triumphalism (ask and it’s yours!) or defeatism (sorrow is my lot in life!). Spiritual maturity avoids both errors. Think of Heb­rews 13:3 and 5 (almost back to back): God will never leave us, yet some of us end up in prison for our faith!

Think of it this way: when you pray and ask the Lord for anything at all, he’ll either give you what you ask for or something better. And he’ll define “better” and act for your good in his time! Mature prayer is at peace with this.

PRAYER CONVERSATION

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of getting caught in a one-sided conversation: your friend goes on and on talking about everything under the sun, from the inane to the profound, including traffic jams, low barometric pressure, rising gas prices, arthroscopic surgery, and mortgage interest rates. You wonder how this person can say so much and still breathe. One thing is sure, when you’re on the receiving end of a one-sided “conversa­tion,” you realize that your thoughts don’t matter.

Sadly, our prayer lives get this way too. We come to God with a wish list and go on and on about all the things we want. In the end it’s all a monologue. We take center stage and rattle on about our needs, our feelings, our wishes, our worries, our fears, our demands. It’s all about us. Will we let God get a word in edgewise, and do we care what he has to say?

A more humble approach is to let the Lord go first. Turn to the Scriptures, the “Word of God,” and allow the Lord speak his good words of comfort, consolation, challenge, and rebuke to your soul: be open to all he has to say! Then let the truth to sink in (don’t hurry) and see how the Lord prompts you to pray in response. You may be surprised at the new requests you make.

This way prayer becomes a conversation: God speaks to us through the Word, and we reply with praise, confes­sion, thanks, and petition. Does your prayer life include two-way communication?

SOUL PRAYER

The most striking thing about Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 is his focus on the soul: all his requests have to do with the health and growth of the inner being, the “heart,” and none of them center on bodily needs. Although in chains (6:20), Paul’s petitions escape the mundane and transport him into lofty realms of spiritual transformation.

The most sobering thing about Paul’s prayer is how different it is from my typical pattern. My tendency has been to ask the Lord for material blessings of all kinds (health, safety, income, nice weather, etc.). In Ephesians 3 these matters just don’t occur to Paul. Not that it’s wrong to pray for bodily needs and creature comforts—it’s right (e.g., James 5:16, pray for healing). But there’s so much more to an authentic, abundant life for a child of God on this earth: so much more.

The most incredible thing about Paul’s prayer is how high he sets his sights. In other words, the appeal is not merely for a soul tune-up but a total overhaul. In 3:18 the plea is that God would enable us to truly grasp the vast proportions of Christ’s love; in 3:19 Paul’s cry is that believers would “be filled with all the fullness of God.” What more can one ask in prayer for Christians than that God would fill them to the brim with his very presence?

So, is your prayer life soaring with Paul’s lofty heart-cry in 3:14-19, or is it stuck in foggy lowlands?

KNOWING GOD'S WILL

Ephesians 5:17 talks about knowing God’s will. The big picture (Eph 1:9-11) is that the Lord wills to bring all things under the reign of Christ, and toward that end he is forming an international fellowship of formerly-hostile but now-reconciled people into one new body, the church (2:11-22). In more personal terms, God’s will for your life is to walk in holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

But some questions remain unanswered: Should you go to Penn State or Taylor University or enlist or get a job? Should you pop the question? Should you make a career change? Should you study linguistics and join Wycliffe and translate the Bible for an unreached people group?

Although I can’t answer these questions for you, God makes his will known, in his time, when we are:

1. in the Word (the Lord never “speaks” to his people in ways that contradict what he has already revealed in the Scriptures)
   
2. in conversation with him through prayer
   
3. truly open to all possibilities
   
4. patient (trust God to make waiting therapeutic)
   
5. humbly receptive counsel from mature Christians, including leaders in your church
   
6. aware of your spiritual gifts
   
7. stepping out in faith to serve the Lord (you can’t steer a parked car).

.

WHEN YOU PRAY

Jesus has strong words for us about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8 and 14-15 (verses surrounding the Lord’s Prayer):

• “When you pray…” Not if, but when. Is prayer an “if” for you, an option? A good idea that you get to sometimes—like flossing your teeth? Or is it really your soul’s lifeblood?
• Don’t pray like a hypocrite. Our motives get mixed—and mixed up—easily. When you pray in the company of others, is there something deep down that seizes the opportunity and twists or tilts things ever so slightly to make you look good?
• Don’t pray “in bulk.” Buying in bulk can mean getting a better deal, but praying long prayers has no advantage. Don’t blabber on and on. Be concise and direct. Be silent at times.
• Forgiving other people is a prerequisite for authentic prayer. God has so designed the human experience that we cannot receive his forgiveness in prayer if we will not forgive those who’ve offended us. Not that we earn God’s favor by forgiving others—you’d have to undo the gospel of grace to see it that way. What it does mean is that truly forgiven hearts are the kind of hearts that extend grace to others; truly forgiven people cannot go on and on holding a grudge. But it also means that authentic believers need God’s warnings—the threat of divine wrath, like the ravine below a cliff-side trail, helps keep us close to Christ.

CARROT, STICK, AND MISSIONS

Does “missions” excite you? I’m guessing that your answer depends tremendously on whether God’s global cause has been brought to you with a carrot or a stick.

It’s true that Jesus tells us to go to all the people groups on earth and make disciples (Matt 28:19-20)—it’s a command, and our job as a church is to obey. This is our duty. But there’s more to the story. In fact, if missions is merely a duty for us, we will not honor the Lord who reveals his heart for the world in the Scriptures.

Beckoning the nations to join in the praise of Christ is God’s glorious cause for which time itself still goes on (Matt 24:14; 2 Pet 3:8-9). And the summons to the peoples of the world is to come the Lord and “rejoice”—let the nations be glad (Ps 67:4; 96:11; 97:1; 98:4; 100:1). We invite the lost to meet the One who made them and loves them, and to bow before this King in joyful, thankful, hopeful worship! This is no mere duty.

The big picture of God’s direction for humanity is this: “Blessed be God’s glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth! Amen and Amen!” (Ps 72:19). “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (Ps 108:5; cf. Num 14:21; Isa 11:9). “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14). It is a beautiful and thrilling opportunity we have to join the Lord in his spectacular global mission—to share his love, to help people find and praise the One their hearts, deep down, long to adore! That is no mere duty.

WHY FOUR GOSPELS?

Why is it we have four Gospels in the Bible? Why not just one complete account? And what are we to make of the differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

Richard Burridge (in Four Gospels, One Jesus? pp. 1-4) gives a helpful analogy. Imagine a tour of Sir Winston Churchill’s country home in Kent in south­east England. In the first room you notice a picture of the great states­man in conference with Roosevelt; the mood is sober, as the fate of the world rests on their shoulders. Around the corner you come to a painting done by Churchill himself showing the happy family at tea-time, undisturbed by the cares of the world. Along a corridor you notice a photo of the man at war—he rides in a camouflaged car and gives the “V” for victory salute to his loyal troops. The mood is upbeat and inspiring. Finally, you see a serene Churchill “on holiday” in 1946, relaxing in a basket chair overlooking Lac Léman in Switzerland.

“Four pictures—each with its own story evoking its own atmosphere and provoking its own response in the viewer—yet all are of one and the same man” (p. 2). Same with the Gospels. God so orchestrated his communication to the world that we’d see his Son from many angles and thus come to know him better than we would with just a single composite picture. Thank God for the differing perspectives and emphases of the Gospels, for they take us deep into fullness and wonder of the one and only Jesus Christ!

FEAR AND FAITH

How much is your life driven by fear? Fear of rejection, failure, pain, loss, or even death? Fear of losing control, fear of stepping out into the unknown, fear of being alone? Fear of not being cool?

I feel the pull of these temptations. But think how crazy it is for me, or you, to live in anxiety. If you trust Christ for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life, then God has for you a hope-filled, anti-worry life now:

If God is for us, who can be against us (Rom 8:31)? He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear (Ps 27:1)? Don’t be anxious about anything, instead pray about everything (Phil 4:6). Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). Etc.!

Of course, freedom from fear doesn’t mean life is easy. It means even the hardest things cannot steal our peace and hope in Christ. Jesus calls us to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), and he predicts believers will be persecuted (John 15:20). But even so, our hope is secure and our future with Jesus is bright (John 10:29)!

So think how crazy it is to live in fear. And, what’s more, how it dishonors the Lord, who is always with us and will never forsake us (Heb 13:5). Worry is practical atheism (think about that)! Cast all your fears on the Lord, for he cares about you (1 Pet 5:7). In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me (Ps 56:4)?

REAL FAITH

Mary and Martha live with the dissonance of honest discipleship: they love and trust Jesus, but yet they also can’t resist scolding him: the Master needs to get his act together.

Grief is heavy in the air—Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus has died, the relatives wail, the tears flow. It’s too much to bear. When the sisters learn that Jesus is finally coming to see them, a surviving shred of faith tumbles out in cries that Jesus could have healed Lazarus (John 11:21, 32)—they think this way about no one else who visits their home. It is an expression of faith, it comes from the heart, and it's true.

But they are wrong to assume that Jesus would have healed their brother if only he had not been so far away or had come sooner (4:46-54; 11:6). Yes, they believe in Jesus, but only to a point. They believe Jesus as long as he makes things go the way they like. Sudden suffering jars these genuine disciples into saying that, in effect, their Lord’s purposes are being hindered—that circumstances have overwhelmed Jesus and he’s blown it. How wrong they are. Jesus’ late arrival to see the family of Lazarus was purposeful and good (11:4, 45).

Mary and Martha illustrate a meaningful yet flawed devotion to Jesus. In this way they speak to me, to you. Our discipleship is riddled with fumbling and false assumptions, with attempts to withhold from Jesus his title of “Lord.” Still, the Master loves these imperfect sisters. Although he corrects them and implicitly rebukes them for their fair-weather faith (11:23, 25-26), he still very much loves them, feels for them (11:35), and lifts them out of their fear meltdown. We too, who are honest enough to see our own reflection in mixed up Martha and Mary, can rest in the arms of a wise and loving Lord—one who truly works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28)!

PROSPERITY AND ADVERSITY

Prosperity or adversity? Which to you prefer?

Jeremiah Burroughs spoke boldly to his 17th century audience about God’s work in the midst of our prosperity and adversity, though his claims seem strange to many in the early 21st century: prosperity is deadly dangerous, and adversity brings great gain. I’ll let him say it as he did in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (Puritan Paperbacks edition):

One taught in the school of Christ learns “… that God by his eternal counsels has set this as his course and way, to bring up his people in this world in an afflicted condition” (p. 115). It is folly not to expect adversity (191, cf. 1 Peter 4:12). “The great design God has in afflicting you, is to break and humble your heart…” (181), and to prompt his people to fall back in faith upon God’s covenant (80). The receptive soul affirms, “I would not have been without this affliction for anything in the world,…” for without it I would have fallen into sin (101). Without afflictions professing Christians quickly find their security in earthly comforts (123, 129), yet in Christ there is strength to support us under all our afflictions. Faith in Christ “is the great grace that is to be acted under afflictions” (63). “There is no work which God has made—the sun, moon, stars and all the world—in which so much of the glory of God appears as in a man who lives quietly in the midst of adversity” (122-23).

The flip-side of advantageous affliction is the danger of wealth. Prosperity is a immense burden for which one needs great strength (103); it is a heavy cross to bear. “Honey, we know, invites bees and wasps to it, and the sweet of prosperity invites the Devil and temptation” (104). While the humble sleep, the cares of the wealthy keep them awake (106). “The Lord conveys the plague of his curse through prosperity, as much as through any thing in the world, and therefore when the soul comes to understand this, this makes it quiet and content” (110). Even though wealth allows the godly the joy of blessing others (98), the way of prosperity is dangerous—like a narrow mountain path along the brink of disaster.

It would be hard to overstate how strange and even offensive these claims are to our comfort-seeking, greed-affirming culture. But Jesus never called us to walk the road of popular opinion. The way of the cross may have no appeal to those who love the world, but it is only through the cross that we find true life and lasting joy (Luke 9:23-24).

COMING HOME

Home. People long to come home. Of course, the adventuresome types also enjoy exploring uncharted territories—it’s exciting to see new sights and sample new cultures. But even the pioneers among us have a need to find their way home.

Home was on our minds as we stuffed our stuff in boxes and then set out for Pennsylvania this week. The process of packing and uprooting reminded us of our need for home (not to mention our propensity to become all too attached to this life’s many “necessary” things).

The deep truth behind all this is that the Lord made us with a built-in homing device—he put “eternity in our hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And the present age is a pre-homecoming venture God has designed for us in which to learn to trust in him and spread his love.

Hebrews 11:13-16 reminds us that we are exiles and aliens on the earth—we don’t really belong here. Instead, believers seek a homeland, “a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (v 16).

Join me in praying that the enticements of this fleeting age would not captivate our hearts, but that deep down we would long to enter the fullness of joy in the perfect presence of Christ: to be truly home!

IMPRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY

For access to my article by this title, see Christianity Today (Sept. 2005, pp. 80-82). It is also available online.

THE LOVE OF MONEY

On May 10, 2000, the lead news story on WBEZ (Chicago public radio) at 7:00 a.m. was: two winning tickets for the record $366 million lottery jackpot had been sold. On May 12 the top head­line story on CNN.com was that Larry Ross of Michigan had won $181 million in the lottery—there he was in the picture, smiling and holding the check. That was the news; it wasn’t supposed to be a cute human interest feature, it was headline news.

I could huff and moan about irrespon­sible public officials who “tax” bad habits by running a lottery, or complain about short-sighted voters who think gambling will yield a net gain for state coffers, but I have a simpler point: you can tell what we value by the things considered newsworthy. Today’s lottery-mania speaks volumes about the vision, values and dreams of our neighbors (and ourselves?): nothing is more important—and more newsworthy—than the prospect of getting REALLY rich (even if the odds are eighty million to one).

Of course, knowing Jesus has a “payoff” of infinite, eternal joy. But that joy only comes to those who love Christ now, follow him now, confess their pride and greed to him now, and find true security in him now. “Lord, spare us from falling in love with riches. Help us always to see our wealth as your property to be used to advance your church and bless the poor. And help us to love our neighbors who love money so much—in the hope that they might find the true riches of your grace! Amen.”

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

An ad on TV for a hair replacement product makes this closing pitch: “Whatever your age, invest in your image.” Not a subtle appeal!

Now before I take aim and fire at this demonic message, I’ll admit that there’s a measure of simple realism in it: almost all of us pay at least a little attention to our image; we brush (or otherwise organize) our hair, use deodorant, and follow some notion of style when choosing clothes. Who can object to that?

But it’s profoundly different to be caught up in “image,” to feel that your identity and self-worth are somehow on the line when it comes to looking good. Andre Agassi says (for Canon cameras), “Image is everything,” but the humble Christian cries out, “NO.” Substance is MUCH more important than image!

In fact, a preoccupation with image is opposition to God: “The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the out­ward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Outward beauty is but deception if the heart is not pure and right before God (Matthew 23:27-28). This earthly body we long to keep looking young is but a fading flower (Psalm 103:15-16); it’s just a “tent” for our very short stay in this life (2 Corinthians 5:1).

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!” Am I caught up in externals? Are you preoccupied with your image, with how others look? Do you “measure” the people around you by outward appearance or inner beauty? Remember that the Lord looks upon the heart.

HOW SATAN RUINS PRAYER

C. S. Lewis offers some round-about wisdom in his book, The Screwtape Letters. Allow me to extend the devious counsel of the senior demon to his apprentice about how to ruin a Christian’s prayers:
· Get him to pray from selfish motives (James 4:3).
· Make him doubt that God is willing and able to grant his request (James 1:5-8; Mark 11:24).
· Get a man to treat his wife disrespectfully or harshly—that will block his prayers in no time (1 Peter 3:7).
· Sell him the idea that God never refuses the prayer of “faith,” and just watch him flounder when he doesn’t get his way (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).
· Send him into prayer feeling pretty good about himself and looking down others (Luke 18:9-14).
· Urge him to bury that unconfessed sin—to pretend it will just go away (James 5:16).
· Help him dwell on how much others have wronged him, and then withhold forgiveness (Matt 6:12, 14-15).
· Tell him he’s the master of his destiny and answers to no one. That’ll lead to rebellion soon enough, and then God will leave him alone (2 Sam 21:14; Ps 66:18).
· Persuade him to give up quickly if he doesn’t get results—that way he’ll never see God’s blessing (Luke 11:5-8; 18:1-8).

EZEKIEL’S REFRAIN

When did you last read Ezekiel? If it’s been a while, you might not remember how the prophecies of judgment and destruction go on and on and on. Why? Because God is just—sin must be punished. And God is holy, so he reacts with revulsion and right­eous anger at the corruption that pours out of the human heart. Still, it’s all quite sobering, this flood of divine wrath against Judah, Ammon, Moab, Egypt, Philistia, to punish peoples who defy or ignore him.

In the midst of it all this refrain occurs over and over: “Then they will know that I am the Lord” (e.g., 24:24; 25:7, 11, 17; 28:24, 26; 29:6, 9, 16, 21; 30:19, 26; 33:29; 35:4, 9, 15). In other words, God will use and even cause calamity in order to jar his enemies (or even his own people) into recog­nizing their sin and realizing that Someone Else is in charge.

Pride kept many from humbly looking to God (e.g., 28:1, 5, 17; 32:12); some­times people forgot about God altogether (e.g., 23:35); and then there were the hypnotizing effects of wealth that prevented trust in the Lord (e.g., 27:25-27). Sins of all kinds took hold. The Lord’s response was to use the superpower Babylon to bring rebels to their knees (later he would punish Babylon, too). This, of course, was severe treatment, but it was a severe mercy, a healthy “reality ther­apy” reminding people who was the Lord and who wasn’t. God takes no delight in the death of the wicked (33:11); his pleasure is in seeing the wicked turn away from sin and live!

Same is true today: God whispers in our pleasure and shouts in our pain. He wants us to know—for our good—that he is on the throne of the universe. So is he the Lord of your life?

PRAYER IS DELICATE

Prayer is delicate. This is not to say that prayer is weak, because the Bible tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16-18; see also Mark 11:23; Matthew 7:7). But prayer is delicate in the sense that its power is easily unplugged when we give in to sin. Known sin in my life or yours creates a ceiling that our prayers hit before falling flat on the floor:

· Husbands who do not honor their wives hinder their own prayers (1 Peter 3:7; see also 3:12).
· Those who pray with selfish motives do not receive what they ask for (James 4:3).
· If you cherish iniquity the Lord will not listen to you (Psalm 66:18).
· God will hide his face and not answer when his people cry to him and yet practice evil (Micah 3:4).
· When we close our ears to God, he does the same to us (Zechariah 7:11-13).
· If we obey God and spread his love, then he will answer our prayers (Isaiah 58:7-9; see also 2 Samuel 21:14 and Jeremiah 7:16-18).

Of course, even the prayer of the sincere and faithful follower of Jesus may be answered with a “No” or “Not now” (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10); the absence of sinful motives or conduct does not guarantee our desired results when we cry out to God (Job and Joseph are among the biblical examples of upright believers who endured great suffering for reasons unrelated to their actions; God's answer to their cries for deliverance was "No, not yet"). By contrast, the Lord, in his sovereign ingenuity, may at times grant certain temporal blessings to those living in sin. But that is not the norm, and the biblical connection between godly living and close communion with the Lord remains God’s standard operating procedure.

And so, for the sake of God’s honor and your spiritual health and joy, search your heart for the pride, greed, hate, anger, lies, fear, lust, idolatry (etc.) that can block your prayers! Con­fess the sins you find—he will forgive (1 John 1:9), and your relationship with the Lord will be restored!

OUR CAPACITY TO FORGET

I was comforted the other day when my teenage son went down the basement to his bedroom, only to return to the kitchen and announce that he had forgotten why he had gone downstairs in the first place. A strange consolation, perhaps, but it reassured me: my lapses of middle-aged memory are not just signs of being over the hill. Forgetfulness is part of being human. And the truth is, we have an amazing (one could say chilling) capacity to forget things. Not just where we put the keys or how to program the VCR. We forget important things—including profound spiritual experiences and lessons.

In Deuteronomy Moses, as he is about to pass the leadership torch to Joshua, harps on the Israelites to remember, remember, remember! What is it they must remember? What kinds of things are we capable of forgetting? Consider:

· Don’t forget what your eyes have seen and ears have heard—how the Lord spoke out of the fire at Mt. Horeb (4:9-13).
· Don’t forget the covenant of the Lord—his promise to provide and the terms of commitment he sets for his people (4:23—God certainly won’t forget his promises, 4:31).
· Remember that you were servants in Egypt and the Lord brought you out to freedom (5:15).
· Remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh in order to bring you out of slavery (7:18; see also 11:1-7).
· Remember how the Lord has led you these forty years (i.e., not just this past week), and realize that the hardships along his path are given to humble you and prove your faith (8:2-3).
· Don’t forget God when you prosper—when flocks multiply and you have nice houses—or your heart will become proud and you will take credit for the deeds of the Lord (8:11-17).
· Remember that it is God who gives you power to gain wealth (8:18).
· Don’t forget the Lord, or you will surely perish (8:19-20).
· Remember your past stubbornness—how you provoked the Lord to anger in the wilderness through your rebellion (9:6-7).

Memory is a spiritual muscle that must be continually exercised. In short, then, we are to remember two things: God’s past provisions, and our spiritual obtuseness. He has taken care of us, and we are thick and dull. Remember these things, and allow that memory to form a footing in our souls for today’s trust and tomorrow’s hope. If we fail to remember the Lord and his works, we will promptly grasp at his throne and set ourselves up gods—proud little deities who resent trials and clutch at the scant joys of self-congratulation. Realize this about yourself, admit it; and let your memory keep your heart humble. Humility is the key idea: a humble heart looks away to the Lord and honors him (remember his greatness, his goodness, his many provisions), and it recalls our propensity to enthrone ourselves (keeping this in mind helps us cling to the Lord!).

We also pick up in Deuteronomy that remembering these urgent matters is a community project. Although individual memory is a vital spiritual capacity, the words of Moses in these chapters are addressed to the people, to the body of believers. The Israelites are charged together with keeping the truth alive in their collective consciousness. And they are instructed as well to share and spread the memory of God’s great deeds by bringing the next generation into the story and filling the minds of their children with wonder at the power and love and imagination of their great God (4:9)! The more we share our recollections of the Lord’s great works, the more our memory will pulsate with spiritual life!

THE MYSTERY OF CONTENTMENT

On p. 43 of The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 17th century Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs says, “Mark, here lies the mystery of it [i.e., contentment], A little in the world will content a Christian for his passage, but all the world, and ten-thousand times more, will not content a Christian for his portion.” So the maturing believer is at one and the same time both deeply content and utterly dissatisfied.

How can that be? “A soul that is capable of God can be filled with nothing else but God...” It is not enough to know earthly comforts or even the peace of God: one must have the God of peace. Burroughs speaks to the “gracious heart” and explains: “If God gave you not only earth but heaven, that you should rule over the sun, moon and stars, and have the rule over the highest of the sons of men, it would not be enough to satisfy you, unless you had God himself” (p. 44).

RECOMMENDED READING

Here are a few books, from various different fields and perspectives, that I have found especially informative and helpful:

Nathan Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity (a study of the rapidly changing landscape of the church in America during the early republic (1780-1830), especially the shift away from hierarchical structures and toward populist patterns under the influence of the spirit of ’76; this work helped me understand many of the cultural assumptions we bring to our churches and that we apply in relation to leaders)

Edwin Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (a not-quite-finished work published posthumously by his wife, this brilliant and provocative yet sometimes aggravating study by a rabbi-therapist-consultant offers a penetrating critique of contemporary culture and how it sets us up for the sabotage of leadership)

Thomas Watson, All Things for Good (an exposition of Romans 8:28 by a 17th century Puritan pastor that probes the ways in which even the hardest things Christians face are for their ultimate good—and how we need to go through such trials)

John Piper, Desiring God (a vigorous defense of the notion that we were made to pursue the greatest of all joys, namely the satisfaction of knowing and following Christ (thus the subtitle: meditations of a Christian hedonist); the biggest problem is that we are so easily pleased, so willing to settle for paltry, second-rate, fleeting pleasures of this life, when ultimate joy is offered)

Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (a stunning picture of what God does in the lives of humble believers who really take prayer seriously)

Ruth Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya (wonderful short stories on the lives of scores of missionaries through the centuries—honest, moving, encouraging)

Bruce Ware, God’s Lesser Glory (an extended and successful refutation of the theology of open theism; Ware ably demonstrates that an attentive reading of the whole Bible must reject the claim that future decisions of humans are not known to God)

John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (as always, Stott is clear, organized, concise, bold—a great book to bring a key biblical passage (Matthew 5-7) into vivid light, and a great model of an expository Bible commentary)

SPIRITUAL AIR POLLUTION

I wonder if we realize how radically “now-oriented” our modern world is. It’s one thing to “live in the present” and trust God for today—that’s great. But it’s another thing to live in complete denial of the looming, final reality of the next life. It seems the air we breathe in Western culture is contaminated with fumes that make people (even many Christians!) forget about eternity.

We need some “Bible oxygen” in order to keep our heads. According to 2 Corinthians 4:17-5:1 this life and its troubles are but “momentary,” and our bodies are mere “tents” we camp in for our brief earthly stay. “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more” (Ps 103:15-16). Compare your time in this world to the dandelion: a bright yellow blossom one day, then before you know it its fuzzy little seeds float away and the flower is gone. And so, Jesus calls the man in Luke 12:16-21 a fool: he may have been rich, but in his delirium he forgot about the next life. He was like Demas, who deserted Paul in time of need because “he was in love with this world” (2 Tim 4:10). And like the Laodiceans, who trusted in their wealth yet failed to see that, spiritually, they were destitute (Rev 3:17).

On the authority of God’s Word I say, Beware of the air down here—it’s polluted. Don’t let the here-and-now take center stage in your heart or thoughts or speech or hopes: don’t be a fool. Instead, give your heart to Christ, get your Bible oxygen, and set your hope in heaven!

THE WAYS OF ASLAN

THE WAYS OF ASLAN:

REFLECTIONS ON THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

In recent months I had the opportunity to read the seven “Chronicles of Narnia” by C. S. Lewis for a third time—to our third child, Emily, who is nine. She has an appetite for stories that is insatiable, so we kept “on pace,” as it were. As I read I found myself coming upon check marks I had put in the margin before to identify some of those poignant passages that give insight into the character of Aslan, the Christ figure. After adding a few new marks this time through, I began to see some common threads and key ideas underlying Lewis’s not-just-for-children children’s fantasy stories and decided to compile the passages. See the following excerpts. (The seven books are: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, and The Last Battle.)

LWW 75-76: Mr. Beaver to the Pevensie children about Aslan, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
LWW 123: “People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.”
LWW 127: about his duty to use his new sword and fight the vicious attacking wolf, “Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight up to the monster…”
LWW 138: of Edmund after being rescued from the witch, “He just went on looking at Aslan. It didn’t seem to matter what the witch said.”
LWW 180: of Aslan, “He’ll drop in often. Only you mustn’t press him. He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”

PC 136: Aslan to Lucy, “But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
PC 137: Aslan to Lucy, “To know what would have happened, child?” said Aslan. “No. Nobody is ever told that.”
PC 138: Aslan to Lucy after she objects to his instruction to tell the others about his arrival, when she has said “But they won’t believe me!” He replies, “It doesn’t matter.”
PC 139: Lucy to herself on following up on Aslan’s orders (above), “I mustn’t think about it, I must just do it.”
PC 143: about their walk following Aslan when he was visible only to Lucy, “Lucy went first, biting her lip and trying not to say all the things she thought of saying to Susan. But she forgot them when she fixed her eyes on Aslan.”
PC 148: when Aslan stood and faced the children, “… looking so majestic that they felt as glad as anyone can who feels afraid, and as afraid as anyone can who feels glad.”
PC 149: on the previously-unbelieving dwarf Trumpkin being tossed about by Aslan, “He was as safe as if he had been in bed, though he did not feel so.”
PC 200: Aslan asks young Prince Caspain if he feels sufficient to take up the kingship of Narnia, and Caspian replies in the negative. “Good,” said Aslan. “If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not.”

VDT 92: Edmund answers Eustace’s question about whether he knows Aslan, “Well—he knows me.”
VDT 93: about the change in Eustace after having been a dragon, “To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy.” “The cure had begun.”
VDT 135: in response to Lucy’s surprise that she had made the already-present Aslan visible, “Do you think I wouldn’t obey my own rules?”
VDT 136: to Lucy, “Child,” said Aslan, “did I not explain to you once before that no one is ever told what would have happened?”
VDT 137: Aslan to Coriakin (magician and ruler of the silly Dufflepuds), “Do you grow weary, Coriakin, of ruling such foolish subjects as I have given you here?”

SC 19: Aslan to Jill in response to her mention that Eustace had called to Somebody for help, “You would not have called to me unless I had been calling you,” said the Lion.
SC 134: Puddleglum in response to the bewitched knight, who considered it comical that Eustace, Jill and Puddleglum would have thought that the stone letters “under me” were written to them, and who said that the words that they formed were but an accident of history left from a longer original: “There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan; and he was there when the giant king caused the letters to be cut, and he knew already all things that would come of them; including this.”
SC 146: in response to the question whether everything would come right if they would just untie the raving knight, “I don’t know about that,” said Puddleglum. “You see, Aslan didn’t tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he’s up, I shouldn’t wonder. But that doesn’t let us off following the Sign.”

HHB 159: Aslan in response to Shasta’s question why he wounded Aravis, “Child,” said the Voice, “I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no-one any story but his own.”
HHB 160: of the radiance of the Lion, “No-one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.”
HHB 176: reflections of Shasta when walking along a cliff-side trail in clear light where he had walked previously in fog beside Aslan, “But of course,” he thought, “I was quite safe. That is why the Lion kept on my left. He was between me and the edge all the time.”

MN 171: Aslan speaks of the folly of Digory’s uncle Andrew, “But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice…. Oh Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!”
MN 174: Aslan to Jill about the witch who ate from the Tree without permission and before the right time, “Child,” he replied, “that is why all the rest are now a horror to her. That is what happens to those who pluck and eat fruits at the wrong time and in the wrong way. The fruit is good, but they loathe it ever after.” He goes on in response to the question whether the fruit will keep the witch ever young: “It will. Things always work according to their nature. She has won her heart’s desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. But length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery and already she begins to know it. All get what they want: they do not always like it.”
MN 175: Digory realizes, in regard to his dying mother, “… that there might be things more terrible even than losing someone you love by death.”
MN 181: Digory, back in his own world with his sick mother to whom he had given the apple from Aslan, thought his own world looked so ordinary and unmagical that he hardly dared to hope; “… but when he remembered the face of Aslan he did hope.”

LB 154: of the children and creatures meeting Aslan, how they “… looked into the face of Aslan and loved him, though some of them were very frightened at the same time.”
LB 170: “… there is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious. It is too good to waste on jokes.”
LB 171: Jewel the unicorn says of his arrival in the real Narnia after the shadow-Narnia had been destroyed, “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.”
LB 184: the last lines of the last page of the book, regarding the Pevensie children, “And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

ASLAN AS EXAMPLE?

I sent the following to Time Magazine regarding the 4-12-04 story, "Why Did Jesus Die?"

Linking Aslan, the Christ figure in C. S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia," with the exemplary theory of atonement (p. 61) is outrageous. Aslan's death is payment to secure the release of the guilty traitor Edmund from the White Witch; the Lion dies in place of the offender. What's more, throughout the seven fantasy stories Lewis highlights the uniqueness Aslan, and the key issue for the main characters is not emulating but obeying their king and deliverer.

Peter K. Nelson, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament
Wheaton College
501 College Ave.
Wheaton, IL 60187

THE GRACE OF GOD AND THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

What are we to do with Jesus’ interactions with the rich ruler (Luke 18:18-20 and parallels)? Jesus seems to be saying that the way to eternal life is by keeping the law. So too Matt 16:27: when the Son of Man returns he will repay all people for the work they will have done. Further, in the Synoptics we don’t find a John 3:16 or a Pauline statement of justification by faith (cf. Rom 3:22-24; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-10). Rather, we find the Sermon on the Mount, with its very demanding standards for ethical behavior. What are we to do with this? Is there an inconsistency between Jesus in the Synoptics and the theology of the rest of the NT?

Several passages in the Synoptics do, in fact, reveal a gospel based on grace, though they do not necessarily use Johannine of Pauline forms/expressions. See these examples (many more could be noted):

• Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32, about the grace of the Father toward a rebellious son who comes home in need with empty hands, and who receives blessing beyond all his reasonable expectations—sheer grace).
• Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14, the one who goes home “justified” [i.e., right with God—not necessarily with connotations of the full Pauline forensic doctrine…] is the humble sinner who prayed and confessed and acknowledged that he had nothing to show but his own sins—there was nothing about himself to be credited, all credit went to the gracious God).
• Luke 7:41-42 (Jesus teaches Simon the Pharisee by means of a story in which two debtors owed a creditor greatly different amounts, and then tells how the creditor cancelled the debts of both so as to highlight the greater love of the one who had had the greater debt; all in all this story seems to allude to the ways of God to cancel the debt of those who don’t deserve it, and there is a leaning toward the idea that it is those who have really large, obvious debts who will have the perception to see their need and seek relief/forgiveness).
• Luke 8:48, 50 (a woman with a flow of blood is made well on the basis of her faith and no merit of any kind; Jairus is told not to fear but only believe and his daughter will be well; these are acts of Christ to bless those who call on him humbly, admitting their need, and seeing that he is willing and able to help them).
• Matt 18:27 (a story about a master who had pity on a servant who could not repay his debts, and so he released the servant and forgave the debts—this is symbolic of the ways of God; yet the story goes on to clarify that the ways of God do not provide this grace in the end to those who respond to it in a manner showing that it has not gripped their hearts and translated into a grace-giving way of life).
• Matt 6:9-13 (the Lord’s Prayer, with Christ's invitation to pray for forgiveness with every expectation that it is available and will be granted simply on the basis of the humble appeal for it; Jesus goes on in Matt 6:25-34 to speak of birds and lilies in such a way as to commend a humble trust, a simple faith resulting in a non-worry lifestyle: a way of life that rests in the Lord for all one needs).

What's more, the Pauline message is replete with commands to be followed (e.g., Rom 12-15; 1 Cor 7-14; Eph 4-6; etc.). Faith alone saves, but faith is something operative--it arouses one to take action (Gal 5:6). The "obedience of faith" Paul calls for (cf. Rom 1:5; 16:26) aligns with the good deeds of the Synoptic Gospels and the good works of James 2:14-26 (faith without works is dead): actions that are rooted in and give practical expression to Christ-centered faith.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

Tomorrow the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” will be released in theaters across America. No doubt, as so many Christians have pointed out, this is a crucial moment in our culture with the brutal suffering and death of Jesus being portrayed so powerfully for so many to see. Those who know and trust in Christ will, I suspect, be moved in a new way to ponder the extent of his love—to endure such horrible suffering for the benefit of the beloved (Romans 5:8). And many who don’t know and trust him will be prompted to ask what the point of it all was—a good question (see Mark 10:45). I pray for such positive results.

At the same time, I have some concerns and questions in connection with this production:
1. Will a film that so strongly emphasizes Jesus’ physical suffering end up understating the spiritual anguish faced by the Son of God as he bears the crushing weight of his Father’s wrath against sin? The blood and nails give only a faint hint of the magnitude of Christ’s greater passion.
2. I’m wondering what it will mean to isolate a 12-hour series of events in Jesus’ life from the rest of his experience. For instance, what kind of a picture of the biblical Christ will be given when his suffering is not vindicated by his victory over death through the resurrection. Of course, there is a time to focus on just a portion of the whole story, but do the potential gains outweigh the potential losses?
3. The movie focuses on an episode in Jesus’ life in which he says very little. This is in contrast to what we know of his active teaching ministry and many contacts and dialogues with eager followers and questioning opponents in the earlier parts of his life. What will it be like to watch a Jesus who is often silent without also seeing the Jesus who has so much to say?
4. The sequence of events in “The Passion” emphasizes the climax of Jesus’ clash with the temple authorities, and we will see their intense and mounting rage against the Christ. But what impact will this have on viewers when the movie doesn’t show so many of the biblical scenes in which this tension and conflict is rooted? Will moviegoers walk away with the sense that the Jewish leaders were enraged without reason? If so, could that inadvertently add energy to the sick and sinful impulses of anti-Semitism?


[[The following are further reflections on the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” (now that I’ve seen it), added to this posting on 3-29-04.]]

The flashbacks “work” in the sense that it doesn’t seem like a movie just about the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life.

The content of the flashbacks relate to Jesus’ childhood, home life, and especially his teaching of the disciples. Absent from the flashbacks are clashes with the temple authorities that would make more plausible the hostility of the high priest and other Jewish leaders toward Jesus. Also lacking from the movie was a basis for the apparent glee and devious satisfaction the Roman guards take in inflicting pain on a passive victim.

The fictional embellishments of the movie (e.g., Jesus falling from the bridge only to see despondent Judas, a crow pecking the face of one of the thieves who was being crucified, the two Marys wiping up the blood of Jesus after his scourging, etc.) don’t seem to detract from or undermine an otherwise generally accurate representation of Jesus’ passion based on the four Gospels. And so, although the uninformed viewer will not be in a position to differentiate between elements rooted in the Bible and those introduced for dramatic effect, that same viewer will, I believe, walk away from the movie with a good sense of the biblical story.

The suffering of Jesus was overwhelming to watch—it just went on and on. Eventually I wondered how they could do more to him without killing him. In the end it seemed there was not a square inch of Jesus’ exposed skin that was not mangled and bloody. Was his suffering prior to crucifixion actually this great? Perhaps one cannot say, but my sense is that artistic and literary portrayals of the passion prior to this one have often understated the suffering Jesus endured.

The intensity of the sustained suffering of Jesus also accentuated his lack of hostility in return. Jesus' refusal to return evil for evil is well known from the Gospels, of course, but it still stood out in a new way against the backdrop of such horrible suffering.

The resurrection was portrayed briefly (less than a minute), and yet it was most vividly acknowledged—there is no doubt in the viewer’s mind that the Jesus who had been beaten to a pulp was now alive and well at the end of the story as he stepped forth to leave the tomb, revealing the nail print in his hand. In this sense, then, the movie is not strictly about the passion.

I have to say “The Passion” is not the kind of movie I am inclined to see again—the experience of watching it was wrenching. But I am glad I saw it—it made me quiet (I saw it alone, which was good) and it made me think. “The Passion” is an important artistic work worth seeing, even though certain aspects of the film may be questioned.